 |  |
into this panegyric of Deity, the prophet, without preparation, suddenly inserts the bald
statement concerning the fashioning of a graven image.
"The workman melteth a graven image, and the goldsmith spreadeth it over with gold,
and casteth silver chains. He that is so impoverished that he hath no oblation chooseth a
tree that will not rot; he seeketh unto him a cunning workman to prepare a graven image,
that shall not be moved."
In like manner this rhetorical figure of "Anti-climax" is found in the chapter that
follows.
"And every one said to his brother, Be of good courage. So the carpenter encouraged
the goldsmith, and he that smootheth with the hammer him that smote the anvil, saying,
It is ready for the sodering: and he fastened it with nails, that it should not be moved"
(Isa. 41: 6, 7).
Surrounded with so many evidences of the Creator's power and wisdom, it seems
almost impossible to believe that the human mind should descend so low. It seems
almost equally impossible that man, made in the image of God, should even think of so
debasing himself as to fabricate a graven image to serve as the object of his worship.
Listen to the pitiful irony of the prophet:
"Silver chains . . . . . that shall not be moved!"
"Fastened with nails, that it should not be moved!"
"It is ready for the sodering!"
But idolatry is something more than the foolish worship of images held together with
"soder" and fastened with "nails" and "chains". Its root lies deeper, for at bottom it is a
false faith. This is seen in Isa. 41: 6, 7:
"Be of good courage. so the carpenter encouraged . . . . . he fastened it with nails."
Used in a context like this the words "Be of good courage" indicate the root cause of
idolatry. They are words used by God Himself, and which demand implicit trust in
Himself.
"For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not: I will
help thee" (Isa. 41: 13).
Here the words "will hold" are a translation of the same Hebrew verb that is translated
"Be of good courage", "encouraged" and "fastened", in Isa. 41: 6, 7. It is the word used
in the great epitome of prophetic truth, Isa. 35:, where the Lord says:
"Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will
come . . . . ." (Isa. 35: 4).
In the passage we are considering (Isa. 40: 12 - 42: 17) the vanity of image worship
is mot merely contrasted with the power and might of the Creator as seen in His works,
but also with the help that He alone can give to His believing people. It is tragic to read,
"So the carpenter encouraged", only a few verses after those magnificent lines: